House of the Dead
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Sega considers reviving classics like 'Crazy Taxi' and 'Jet Set Radio'
Sega is considering reviving multiple classic game franchises, including 'Crazy Taxi' and 'Jet Set Radio.'
Two classic ‘House of the Dead’ games are being remade for current consoles
Arcades are a rare sight these days. But while nothing can match the experience of exchanging a $10 bill for a pile of quarters and binging on some games with your friends, many of the classics have made their way to consoles and PCs. Publisher Forever Entertainment will bring some zombie-blasting arcade action home with re-releases of House of the Dead and House of the Dead 2, Sega's iconic light gun games.
Shinobi, Vectorman join mobile House of the Dead: Overkill cast
Sega targets 16-bit superfans with two new character-themed upgrade packs for the iOS and Android versions of its first-person zombie shooter The House of the Dead: Overkill - The Lost Reels. The Ninja Star pack replaces the game's standard Colt gun with an unlimited supply of shuriken, resulting in gameplay that resembles an extended bonus stage from the 1987 Shinobi arcade game. The Vectorman's Ball Gun upgrade, on the other hand, switches out the minigun for Vectorman's lime-green weaponry, and adds Genesis-like particle effects to your zombie massacre. While Shinobi's protagonist Joe Musashi has made scattered showings in Sega-published games over the years (including a cameo as an unlockable character in 2011's 3DS title Shinobi), these upgrades mark a rare appearance for Vectorman. Fans of Sega's prerendered robotic hero had their hearts broken in 2003 following the cancellation of a planned Vectorman reboot for the PlayStation 2, and the franchise has remained dormant since. Both items are available for purchase using in-game "Ka$h," which can be earned during gameplay or via microtransactions.
House of the Dead: Overkill brings its foul mouth to iOS
Sega's profanity-laden on-rails shooter, House of the Dead: Overkill, will make its way to iOS when the App Store refreshes tonight. Dubbed House of the Dead: Overkill - The Lost Reels, the universal iOS app is a remixed version of the 2009 Wii game broken down into three different "movies." An initial purchase unlocks the first movie and finishing that will unlock the second, with an in-app purchase of $2 required to access the final campaign.Controls are handled through three different methods. There's a virtual stick-and-reticle set-up and another using accelerometer controls, but the third option is most odd – a locked Frenzy Tap setting. Touch Arcade has been playing the game today and says it hasn't figured out how to unlock that third option yet, or what exactly it is, but posits that it may be a tap-to-shoot style of play.House of the Dead: Overkill - The Lost Reels should be available after iTunes is updated tonight at 11 p.m. ET. The app is already live in the New Zealand territory and priced at $6.50 in New Zealand dollars, which comes out to about $5.50 here in the US.
House of the Dead 3 on PSN next week, demo out now for PS Plus
On-rails arcade shooter House of the Dead 3 is coming to the PlayStation Network on Valentine's Day, according to the official Sega blog. Just in time for you and your sweetheart to blow apart a few zombie heads, the game will be available for $6.99. For the next two weeks following its release, a free avatar will be included with purchase, making it a little like getting a Kit Kat bar with your very own Whitman's Sampler.PlayStation Plus members have an even better deal: They'll be able to get House of the Dead 3 for 30% off until February 28, and will also get an exclusive theme and a few more avatars with the title. And starting today, PS Plus members can download the demo of the game, an exclusive that lasts until February 21.
House of the Dead 2 & 3 for $12.99 shipped
Newegg is currently offering The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return for the ridiculously low sum of $12.99. With free shipping. Honestly, we're not sure how to fill the rest of this post with more relevant information. You get two House of the Dead games, both of them brimming with zombies just itching to be blown apart, for $12.99. That's about as much as a disgusting chicken sandwich and a terrible bottle of wine to wash it down with. You don't want those things, do you? Of course not. Get the game. Better get it fast though, because it's bound to sell out quickly at this price.
House of the Dead: Overkill far too cheap on Amazon
We were filled with a mix of two emotions upon seeing that House of the Dead: Overkill is now $12.99 on Amazon. The first emotion was, of course, joy, because now more people can experience the total, unabashed radicool that drenches this funny, smartly designed on-rails shooter. The other emotion? Disgust that it had to come to this. This should be a collector's item that's impossible to find, not fodder for the bargain bin! All we're saying is this: We bought our copies here at Joystiq HQ. Did you buy yours, America? ... Well? Did you?
House of the Dead: Overkill shambling off Amazon for $20
Looking for an excuse to pick up the already cheap (and awesome) House of the Dead: Overkill? Amazon has got you covered, as Sega's ill-fated yet profitable zombie blaster is the latest Deal of the Day. These babies are priced to move at a mere $20. If you've been hankering for some decent, co-op undead action, you'd be hard-pressed to do much better.Be warned though. While one would certainly think a zombie shooting spree would be fun for the whole family, Overkill is not for the kids. Turns out there are just a few swear words in there.
MadWorld sells 66K in March, Sega oddly pleased
Call us crazy, but we always thought that the idea behind making games was to sell tons of copies. Not so for Sega, as it seems weirdly satisfied with MadWorld's lackluster sales, based on comments to Gamasutra. Debuting early in March, Platinum Games' over-the-top brawler managed to move 66,000 copies, despite generally positive reviews.Sega's other M-rated title on Wii, House of the Dead: Overkill, also managed to have a sub-par debut, selling 45,000 copies during February. What does this say for The Conduit, the third of Sega's big games for Wii? Could Sega's gamble on the mature audience of Wii gamers been a poor move? All signs are pointing to "yes" right about now ... but Sega seems to disagree!%Gallery-22964%
House of the Dead: Overkill sells 45k in February
Sega's latest (on rails) shooter -- and Guinness World Record holder -- The House of the Dead: Overkill sold 45,000 units in February, landing itself 50th place in the month's top 100 titles sold. According to data from the NPD Group (Via Edge), Overkill -- which released on February 10 -- joins other third-party Wii titles that have failed to capture attention at retail. Last year, Sega of America president Simon Jeffery said Western publishers have ignored the hardcore market focusing instead on family friendly titles, in line with the Wii's mainstream image. Sega -- who recently released MadWorld -- is prepping for a June release of The Conduit, continuing a string of Mature rated titles developed for the top-selling console. Hopefully, it will fare better on store shelves.
Looking at what makes House of the Dead: Overkill so unique
In the third part (see part one and part two, if you're playing catch up) of this behind-the-scenes series, we're getting to the heart of what makes House of the Dead: Overkill such a unique experience. The folks at Headstrong Games talk about the 70's films and musical inspirations of the era that helped give Overkill its style. Jump past the break to watch the video and see for yourself.%Gallery-29952%
House of the Dead devs on Overkill's story, zombie appropriateness
Headstrong Games could have chosen to make The House of the Dead: Overkill pretty much on autopilot. Gun goes here, zombies go here, here's a village, and ... cue monotone Engrish exposition. And it would have been awesome! But Headstrong has actually put some thought into the setting and story, meshing characters and elements of the classic series (like Agent G of "G's bloodstains!" fame) with a totally new story and feel.Headstrong discusses the development of the game's story and locations in a video after the break. We especially like seeing how much attention was paid to creating different zombie designs appropriate to each game's location, if only because about 90% people's attention in the game will be directed at the zombal component.%Gallery-29952%
An Overkill Primer: Pre-order House of the Dead, get prologue comic
You wouldn't think the House of the Dead series would need a lengthy explanation, but Sega disagrees. Pre-ordering The House of The Dead: Overkill nets gamers a 32-page comic book, illustrated by Steve Copter of punk-band 'Black Mekon' fame. Available in traditional paper form at GameStop or digitally from Amazon, the comic stars Overkill protagonist Agent Washington and stripper-extraordinaire Varla Gunns, and details events that occur just before the start of the upcoming game. Here we thought the only explanation needed with House of the Dead was: "Shoot everything that isn't you ... and don't accidentally shoot any survivors."
How does one make a House of the Dead?
With a lot of bodies.In all seriousness, Gamekyo has uploaded a nice behind-the-scenes video for Sega's upcoming on-rails shooter, House of the Dead: Overkill. Among the usual things one finds in these types of videos (pillow fights, for example) are gameplay snippets and poignant gaming discussion from the dev behind the game. The folks behind the scenes say a lot of the right things: "You don't want to offend the fans of the series," and "Gamers are gamers, it doesn't matter where you come from, shoot a mutant in the face and it's great." Truth. Head past the break for the video.[Via press release]%Gallery-29952%
Overkill tells us a story in latest trailer
Sega of Europe has unleashed a new trailer for House of the Dead: Overkill focusing on the story behind the on-rails shooter. It has appropriate levels of zombie carnage, as well as G himself, doing what he does best. Who can turn down anything to do with G? Not us, that's for sure! Check out the video above, then head into our gallery to see those new screens you may have missed from earlier in the week. %Gallery-29952%
Wii Warm Up: The Gun of the Dead: Overseas
So Sega is releasing an unbelievably awesome gun shell for use with The House of the Dead: Overkill ... in Europe and Australia. No word yet on the US. The Aussie version even (optionally) comes packaged with two of the things!We can't imagine it would make a difference, but if you're on the fence about Overkill, would the availability of an officially licensed, quite cool-looking accessory push you over the edge? Conversely, does the lack of such an item in the US make you feel somewhat cooler on the title? Or do gun shells just not matter all that much?%Gallery-29952%
More awesome House of the Dead: Overkill art, European date
Click to embiggen. Wow. The build-up to House of the Dead: Overkill's release next month has resulted in some excellent art (be it in the form of comics, limited edition boxart, or swag), and here's something else Overkill-related to crave: this superb, grindhousey movie poster. We dearly hope Sega isn't intending to use this solely for the marketing of Overkill and then forget it forever, because this is precisely the kind of thing that needs to be on our walls. You can see a bigger version of this in our gallery, along with three new screens.Meanwhile, Sega has confirmed a very spooky European release date of Friday, February 13th. That's just in time to treat your loved one to a helping of black magic and violence! Don't forget your Hand Cannon.%Gallery-29952%
Official House of the Dead: Overkill Hand Cannon: shoot like G does
House of the Dead: Overkill players in the UK and Australia will have the option to play the game in a distinctly more badass, yet vaguely cosplayer-esque style, should they choose. Sega and peripheral company Venom will release a Wii gun shell modeled after the "Hand Cannons" the AMS agents in the game carry. Amazon.co.uk is taking preorders for the item, to be shipped on February 13 (two weeks before the February 28 date they claim for the game) at a price of £12.99 ($19).Australian zombie-haters have it even better: NeoGAFfer untoldhero (an accurate name if ever there was one) found a convincingly official-looking retail listing for a "Bang Bang Box" bundle containing the full Collector's Edition of the game, with the special sleeve and the comic book, as well as two Hand Cannons, for $89 AUD ($59 USD). That price has got to be a mistake. We've got a picture after the break of the heartbreakingly awesome package.Sadly, we've seen nothing about the Hand Cannon in the US. We fear that Sega's deal with Venom doesn't extend out of PAL territories.%Gallery-29952%
Try out Sega's Wii line-up early
If you're in the New York area between February 6 - 8, we are now officially jealous of you, for something other than the fact that you live in New York. Sega USA's blog informs us that House of the Dead: Overkill, Sonic and the Black Knight, MadWorld, and The Conduit will all be playable at the 2009 New York Comic-Con, which in our opinion makes the $30 fee for a Friday or Sunday ticket (or even the $40 for a Saturday pass) totally palatable. Alternatively, if you fancy being the jerk who hogs the Wii booths for a full three days, you can pony up $50 for the entire event.%Gallery-22964%[Via IGN]
Wii Fanboy Interview: Headstrong talks House of the Dead: Overkill
House of the Dead: Overkill launches pretty much everywhere next month, and looks set to be a mini-upheaval for Sega's venerable lightgun series.While shooting zombies in the face still plays a major role, Brit developer Headstrong Games has introduced a '70s horror theme, time manipulation, new enemies, and a ton of extra content. We lined up Lead Designer Alastair Halsby in our shotgun reticles, and fired several rounds of questions his way. Join us after the break for a discussion on grindhouse, censorship, and the "ballistic ballet of zombie destruction." Heads up!%Gallery-29952%
